Grade II*-listed Kent mansion that Henry VIII visited for sale at £7.5 million
Property consultants Knight Frank has announced it has put up for sale a Grade II*-listed Italianate mansion in the village of Goudhurst, Kent, for a guide price of £7.5 million.
The Bedgebury mansion – has most recently been used for educational purposes and is currently owned by The Bell Educational Trust Limited – a charity which specialises in language training.
The sandstone-clad stone mansion retains many original period features, including Adam style marble fireplaces, rococo columns and marble flooring, maple wood paneling, and ornate decorative ceiling cornices and plasterwork.
All the grand principal reception rooms are incorporated into teaching spaces as is the former Stable Block and Coach Houses. In addition there are all the facilities one would expect of an international school with extensive high quality purpose built facilities, including teaching accommodation, sports and assembly halls, pupil and staff accommodation. In addition is the Frank Bell Centre comprising; purpose-built school buildings centred around a Victorian barn, which could be operated as a self contained facility.
Emma Cleugh, Partner and Head of Knight Frank’s Institutional Consultancy department, which specialises in the sale of schools, said: “Bedgebury is one of the most important institutional properties to come to the market for many years. It will appeal to a number of markets given its stature, history, beautiful setting and potential for a variety of uses. We anticipate strong interest from buyers, not only from the UK but also from overseas and in particular the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries that are showing great interest at this time, in not only real estate but education in the UK.”
Bedgebury was first mentioned in documentary sources in a charter of 814. The estate stayed in the Bedgebury family until 1424 and the death of John de Bedgebury, who had fought in the Battle of Agincourt. Over time, the house was visited by Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, and Queen Elizabeth I is known to have stayed in 1573. In 1682 Sir James Hayes purchased the estate and rebuilt the house in 1688 using the profits of gold and jewels recovered from a sunken Spanish treasure ship.